Hotel Omasila – a delightful hotel in Leh, Ladakh

Having just returned from a pretty epic visit to Ladakh, including trekking, climbing, a debilitating bout of AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) and quite a lot of time on my own, acclimatising, I can safely say that the pretty, well-situated Hotel Omasila was a perfect base for all my adventures.

And for some weary downtime, too.

What marked this hotel out from the other Leh hotels I have used over the years is its genuine friendliness and warmth. Every member of staff, from the gentle Ladakhi owners, to the waiters and those dear strong ladies who heft bags up and down the stairs for exhausted climbers like yours truly – every single member of staff was kind, welcoming and considerate.

This, for example, was during a lovely chat one morning with the owner about flowers and politics and life in Leh and lots, lots more…

Knocked pretty sideways by AMS, I returned to Leh alone, ahead of the rest of my climbing team, and the hotel staff couldn’t have been sweeter.

They carried my luggage up to my room***,offered me tea, clucked over my sunburned face, and promised to hand over a padlock and key for the luggage I abandoned on the mountain for my teammates to bring down.

The single biggest plus that this hotel has – other than location – is an utterly gorgeous garden, with killer views.

Shanti stupa.

Stok Kangri.

You name it, you can see it from the Omasila garden, and I spent many a happy afternoon there, reading and sipping tea in the shade of a tree.

The rooms are OK size wise.

The bathrooms are also fine. Adequate but fine.

Food is copious.

I turned up late one day for lunch, having slept through my sickness, and yet they served me food, way after hours.

But it is the kindness and the gentleness of the staff, and those views, that makes the Omasila hotel such a great place.